Singers love guitar great Peter Sprague

It was back in the late 1980s that Peter Sprague had a long layover between flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport in Holland, at the end of a European concert tour. He found an empty waiting area, took out his acoustic guitar and began to play, something this longtime North County resident does better than any other jazz guitarist to come out of San Diego in memory.

When he looked up a while later, as his fingers continued to effortlessly glide across the fret board, Sprague discovered he had an appreciative new fan who had stopped in his tracks to listen and enjoy. That fan was jazz and pop vocal legend Tony Bennett, who began to sing an impromptu version of “It Could Happen To You” as Sprague offered nuanced accompaniment.

“I had never met Tony before and I haven’t seen him since, but he’s a real hero of mine,” said Sprague, who counts fellow singing stars Al Jarreau and Diane Reeves among his past and present employers.

Bennett, I have no doubt, would give a hearty endorsement to Sprague’s arresting new album, “Calling Me Home.”

It teams this ace six-string artist with five gifted singers — Leonard Patton, Lisa Hightower, Kate Fuller, Allison Adams Tucker and Kevyn Lettau (whose musical relationship with Sprague dates back to when they were both teenage members of his Dance of the Universe Orchestra here in the second half of the 1970s).

While he can easily hold his own in any instrumental setting, as saxophonist Sonny Rollins and keyboardist Chick Corea can attest, Sprague has a special affinity for singers. His supple touch and ability to support and elevate a vocal performance is a delight for his collaborators and audiences alike, as will be demonstrated at his CD-release gig Sunday at Tango del Rey in Pacific Beach.

The concert will feature all five of the singers on the stylistically diverse “Calling Me Home,” performing together live for the first time, along with the redoubtable bassist Gunnar Biggs and top San Diego drummer Duncan Moore. The repertoire will include all of the songs from the album, additional selections and a grand finale featuring Sprague’s new, five-part vocal arrangement of “Calling Me Home’s” gospel-tinged title track.